“We must all resign”: Charamba

Mugabe’s spokesperson, George Charamba, has offered to resign and called on cabinet ministers who presided over entities fingered in the Salary-gate scandal to be honourable and do the same.

This comes as Information Minister Jonathan Moyo revealed that Mugabe had been “dismayed” by revelations of the pay scandal and demanded that ministers act to stop the rot.

“President Mugabe, on Tuesday, directed all Cabinet ministers to take full responsibility of the affairs of their ministries and of the parastatals, State enterprises or local authorities under their supervision to ensure that the rot is brought to an end by holding those culpable to account and to protect public assets and funds,” Moyo told a state-run weekly.

In an interview with a privately-owned radio station last week, Charamba said Mugabe’s Cabinet lieutenants had slept on the wheel and should do the honourable thing and resign.

Zimbabweans, most unable to feed their families, have watched in shock and anger revelations of obscene salaries earned by executives at government institutions which are either insolvent or effectively comatose due to poor management.

“That’s dereliction of duty on the part of ministries. We slept on the job. That’s the bottom line. Whether we snoozed because we were sleepy or snoozed because we were ignorant, it makes no difference,” Charamba said.

The most shocking revelations have related to the Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation (ZBC) which Charamba is effectively responsible for as Permanent Secretary of the Information Ministry.

An even bigger sandal emerged at the government-run health insurer for civil servants PSMAS where the chief executive earned $230,000 per month while service providers were not paid and members had to pay cash upfront for health care.

Charamba is a board member at PSMAS and reportedly drew over $100,000 in allowances last year alone.

“Zimbabweans are angry and have every reason to be angry. Take, for example, ZBC (Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation). That money which was supposed to have them entertained was being taken to sponsor large lives,” he said.

“Those involved, including myself; should be made to pay. I should relinquish my position. If I am not moved by my conscience, I should be moved by a higher authority,” Charamba told a local radio last week.

Charamba said the Information Ministry, under former Zanu PF minister Webster Shamu, knew of the rot at the ZBC but claimed they could not act as that would have weakened the party’s prospects ahead of last year’s elections.

He also said the Ministries of Mines, Health, and Transport, among others, have been rocked by salary scandals in parastatals under their supervision.

Opposition Mavambo leader Simba Makoni has called on Mugabe to show leadership and “say something” over the scandal while former Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai’s MDC-T party demanded a judicial inquiry into the scandal.

Moyo, meanwhile, said the government was taking the allegations seriously.

“The reported salaries and allowances are so shocking, obscene, corrupt and illegal that they require urgent and comprehensive policy response given their damaging impact on both the economy and our country’s ethical fabric,” he said.

“As such, the public is right not only to express its anger at those implicated in this corruption but also to expect and indeed demand visible and decisive Government action against the scourge.

“The bottom line, about which there should be neither doubt nor compromise in anyone’s mind, is that public positions in Government, parastatals, State enterprises or local authorities are not self-enrichment schemes.

“It is now apparent that the informal and temporary dollarisation of our national currency system has given birth to a culture of devastating corruption through obscene salaries and allowances matched by fraudulent procurement resulting in distorted prices of goods and services in the economy.

“Government understands and is committed to ensure that the needful is urgently and comprehensively done to correct the egregious anomaly. The public deserves and must get better.”

This sounds like a call to mad suicide, from one that lala conviction in what they are saying.

The road to hell is paved with good intentions.

Charamba, this doesn’t have to be a group action. So stop talking and lead by example. Just resign. You probably don’t even have the balls to do it anyway. This is just empty talk to try and massage your shame.

That’s the result of the politics of tribalism and patronage. Unfortunately that’s what even the voters enjoy and hence any meaningful change will be only when
current political immaturity has been overcome.

M u gabe and all his cronies are in it. The whole lot stinks & must resign. Mugabe is the really genesis of all this. The buck stops wwith him. Zanu
Pf is borne of corruption & there was no way they could hold the country together. Mugabe & his bootlickers must all step down & give way to a transitional government pending elections in 24 months.

Sleeping on the job???? I don’t think so….more like making hay while the sun shines. Premeditated theft is what it is, every board member should be held to account for neglect of their fiduciary duties, be made to pay every cent plus penalties back and spend some time inside…. we can but dream!

all along I used to think that this guy with a masters in communication from the uk is unambitious only to realise that he is eating from that position he held since 1800. its better if you remain in your positions bcoz we will know that we are paying you 4 something at least. if you resign we may still be paying you sitting at home. with the crook-murderer Mugabe in tpower, I believe that even the shamuyariras are still on the gvt’s payroll more than 10 years after leaving politics!

No one will resign no one will go to jail it will all be forgotten once we have been distracted long enough and move on to the next scandal. Remember the President’s latest inauguration speech against corruption. Nothing happened and nothing will. The Zanu way.

Mr Mugabe is the well-spring of corruption, the fountain from which all corruption issues. His love of power for ever and ever is the driver of his politics of patronage, and so he bought, with our nation’s money and our future debts, all these corrupt men and women to keep him in power for ever. That is why they get $50,000 per month and more; that is why they are never prosecuted in our corrupted courts. In his own malevolent words: you do not kill a snake by striking the tail, but by striking the head.

An honourable man would have already resigned and refuse to be persuaded to withdraw his resignation and pay back looted funds,so Mr Charamba make fools of those who are illiterate not us.
The president should take decisive steps to increase his popularity to the masses because he will NEVER have another opportunity to do it.Please take advantage the Almighty God has given you to become a respected leader internationally again.Drop all these ministers who have used your name for their own selfish means.Have the courage your excellency and fire them one by one they are not worth keeping in your cabinet.

it is only proper and correct to arrest those involved, in order to curb such rotten practises in future. Mugabe promised to deal with corruption , was it for the elections only? if he was sincere in his promises he must walk the talk.

Charamba being close to the President knows that Mugabe cannot continue for ever. That’s why he wanted to resign and Mugabe would not let him. He is trying to set it up again. He forgets the words of one of their own “Zanu is like a tiger. When you ride it you cannot dismount or else it will eat you” Unfortunately for George he caught a tiger by it’s tail.

if shamu, knew abt it as charamba,said he should be prosecuted, I’m just waiting to see what the senior corrupt officer (mugabe) what he is going to do abt this.he tirikutadza kuburira pamusana pema sanction atakaisirwa ne britain, ko humbavha hwamurikuita hamusi kuhuona.

These salaries did not start being paid after July 31 2013…If Ministers are to be held responsible surely this must apply to all thise who were Ministers before then including vana Biti,Gorden Moyo and others…It is folly to think this was a ZANU(PF)thing..ALL our current crop of politicians from ZANU/MDC/NCA/MDC-N/MDC-99 must just go to kumusha.

This is disgusting and their greed is insatiable.haven’t they stopped to look at the plight of the people our roads are a disgrace. This once beautiful city is just rubble you must hang your head in shame Mugabe

Please tell me how often do you carry out audit in public service. Surely resigning is not a solution these people must pay back the money by either having their assts frozen.Some countries are relying
on experts accountance to cope with economic downturn.Ithink the country should make use of these talents to track down on culprits.
I am so moved by the mismanagement and its pathetic.

It is normal in Zimbabwe that one could be sentenced four decades behind bars for nude picks and pornographic materials, yet the one abusing public funds is urged if possibly to resign. This is true empowerment and sovereign which the Britons compromise as human rights abuse and ending up imposing sanctions on most paid people on earth. Exposing these people is as bad as Vice and president to be has said . This shows how heavenly the future Zimbabwe is going to be enjoyed. If you miss the arrow the axe will be on your way , chose Ahab or Jezebel that’s the only possibly way out.